This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah students once again beat the nationwide average on the SAT college entrance exam. Students in the state earned an average score of 1,658 out of 2,400, compared with a nationwide average of 1,511 on the test, which includes reading, mathematics and writing sections.
But before you start celebrating Utah's genius, consider this: Only 6 percent of Utah high school seniors take the exam, according to the Utah State Office of Education.
That's because Utah colleges and universities require students to take the ACT entrance exam for admission, not the SAT. "The SAT is basically for kids who are looking to go to one of the coasts and possibly the upper Midwest - [schools such as] UCLA, Stanford and Columbia, which is why our scores tend to look good," said Utah State Office of Education spokesman Mark Peterson. Rod Campbell, Advanced Placement coordinator at Highland's Lone Peak High School, agrees.
"I would generalize that Utah would have higher SAT scores because the majority of kids who take them are looking at Ivy Leagues or out of state."
- Lisa Schencker